Steph's Group - CLOSED (Page 9)

1.  Walk or bike to work.
2.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
3.  Use the bathroom on a different floor from you, requiring use of the stairs each time.
4.  Park far from the building wherever you go.
5.  Jump on the trainer after your kids go to bed.
6.  While your kids are in brownies/sports/school/church, run laps around the facility or better yet, run away from the facility.
7.  Stretch while reading the internet at lunch.
8.  Conference call leg lifts or downward dog. 

My additions:
9.  Coffee from the far away starbucks, not the one close to my office (great break away)
10.  Lock door and stretch while reviewing briefs
11. Pull-ups/pushups/plyo jumps/etc at playground
12.  Ride trainer in the morning and accept fact that 1/2 hour is better than nothing if kids get up early
13.  Stretching/core in front of TV at night
14.  Stretch calves while waiting for microwave to heat food (I constantly do this)

1.  Walk or bike to work.
2.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
3.  Use the bathroom on a different floor from you, requiring use of the stairs each time.
4.  Park far from the building wherever you go.
5.  Jump on the trainer after your kids go to bed.
6.  While your kids are in brownies/sports/school/church, run laps around the facility or better yet, run away from the facility.
7.  Stretch while reading the internet at lunch.
8.  Conference call leg lifts or downward dog. 
9.  Coffee from the far away starbucks, not the one close to my office (great break away)
10.  Lock door and stretch while reviewing briefs
11. Pull-ups/pushups/plyo jumps/etc at playground
12.  Ride trainer in the morning and accept fact that 1/2 hour is better than nothing if kids get up early
13.  Stretching/core in front of TV at night
14.  Stretch calves while waiting for microwave to heat food (I constantly do this)

15.  Use a stationary swim belt to swim in a hotel pool when traveling 
16.  Push ups with a child hanging on you as extra weight
17.  Stair workouts at home while kids are playing (I was thinking of trying to do it quickly enough that by the time my little one tries to follow me, I'm already heading back down the stairs) 

Good lord this place is hopping today!!!  I love this group!

1.  Walk or bike to work.
2.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
3.  Use the bathroom on a different floor from you, requiring use of the stairs each time.
4.  Park far from the building wherever you go.
5.  Jump on the trainer after your kids go to bed.
6.  While your kids are in brownies/sports/school/church, run laps around the facility or better yet, run away from the facility.
7.  Stretch while reading the internet at lunch.
8.  Conference call leg lifts or downward dog. 
9.  Coffee from the far away starbucks, not the one close to my office (great break away)
10.  Lock door and stretch while reviewing briefs
11. Pull-ups/pushups/plyo jumps/etc at playground
12.  Ride trainer in the morning and accept fact that 1/2 hour is better than nothing if kids get up early
13.  Stretching/core in front of TV at night
14.  Stretch calves while waiting for microwave to heat food (I constantly do this)
15.  Use a stationary swim belt to swim in a hotel pool when traveling 
16.  Push ups with a child hanging on you as extra weight
17.  Stair workouts at home while kids are playing (I was thinking of trying to do it quickly enough that by the time my little one tries to follow me, I'm already heading back down the stairs)

18. Core work during commercials
19. Walk up and down extra flights of stairs if heading to a meeting on another floor (only works if you have multiple floors in your building but I've walked up and down 5 flights a few times to end up one floor up from mine for a meeting)
20. Walk or jog to the grocery store (if it's close enough) if you only have a few things to pick up
21. ^^^ If store is a bit far away, or you have to buy lots of things, have someone pick you & the groceries up at a designated time
22. Jog to the post office to mail a letter instead of putting in the mailbox
23. Get to spin class early and ride before class starts
24. Ride bike to coffee shop instead of driving
25. Do 10 to 20 pushups and situps before climbing into bed

I'm totally doing the additional flights of stairs today.  I'm not doing 5 flights, though, because that would make me sweaty at work, which is bad.

Will report back on success/failure.

Hey, all. Got a little intestinal bug for a few days but I think I am back in the saddle now. Got to catch up on my reading! Lots of quiet and then quite a little flurry of posts.

Man, I'm joining this conversation late.  These are all great ideas.  I'll see if I have anything new.

1.  Walk or bike to work.
2.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
3.  Use the bathroom on a different floor from you, requiring use of the stairs each time.
4.  Park far from the building wherever you go.
5.  Jump on the trainer after your kids go to bed.
6.  While your kids are in brownies/sports/school/church, run laps around the facility or better yet, run away from the facility.
7.  Stretch while reading the internet at lunch.
8.  Conference call leg lifts or downward dog. 
9.  Coffee from the far away starbucks, not the one close to my office (great break away)
10.  Lock door and stretch while reviewing briefs
11. Pull-ups/pushups/plyo jumps/etc at playground
12.  Ride trainer in the morning and accept fact that 1/2 hour is better than nothing if kids get up early
13.  Stretching/core in front of TV at night
14.  Stretch calves while waiting for microwave to heat food (I constantly do this)
15.  Use a stationary swim belt to swim in a hotel pool when traveling 
16.  Push ups with a child hanging on you as extra weight
17.  Stair workouts at home while kids are playing (I was thinking of trying to do it quickly enough that by the time my little one tries to follow me, I'm already heading back down the stairs)

18. Core work during commercials
19. Walk up and down extra flights of stairs if heading to a meeting on another floor (only works if you have multiple floors in your building but I've walked up and down 5 flights a few times to end up one floor up from mine for a meeting)
20. Walk or jog to the grocery store (if it's close enough) if you only have a few things to pick up
21. ^^^ If store is a bit far away, or you have to buy lots of things, have someone pick you & the groceries up at a designated time
22. Jog to the post office to mail a letter instead of putting in the mailbox
23. Get to spin class early and ride before class starts
24. Ride bike to coffee shop instead of driving
25. Do 10 to 20 pushups and situps before climbing into bed

Other ideas:
26. Do pushups, squats, or core work to break up a swim workout (get out after every 100 or so)
27.  Stretch while drying my hair (I dry mine upside down for a few minute down dog).
28.  Make yourself late for school pick up so you have to run (we live close)
29.  Drink 1 full glass of water and wait 20 minutes before getting seconds on anything.
30.  Seconds must be a piece of raw fruit or veggie
31.  Add flax seed meal to everything baked or otherwise
32.  Use one whole egg and then egg whites only in cooking 
33.  Eat your salad first.
34.  Post motivational quotes/phrases in workout areas or where you dress
35.  Frame and proudly display photos of you racing.
36.  Leave race numbers on your bike for indoor trainer rides (weird but reminds me why I'm there).

Keep 'em coming!

Jennifer

Edited by jlahoward 2011-02-09 12:18 PM

I've also been taking the stairs - I'm always really good about going down them but not so good about going up them.  But now I've actually walked up the stairs twice.  And I've been trying to use a restroom on a different floor but I drink so much water at work and have to go so often that I usually dont want to take the extra time to go to another floor. 

Have any of you ever tried swimming with wrist tendonitis or a brace on your wrist?  I"m dying to get back in the pool but my wrist isnt 100% yet.   I dont know if swimming will make it worse or re-strengthen it after being a brace for 6 weeks.   

Great ideas there!!!

Had my first ever bike fit...wow did he make some adjustments! I can't wait to ride and see what a difference it makes.

Off to check on everyone's workouts!

Wow...back in the pool after several days off...what a workout! Coach flogged us across that pool. :D I am not the slowest person in the pool, either, I discovered to my surprise. I'm somewhere in the middle, yet with a million things to learn. Tonight I was experimenting with bilateral breathing, and I'm still trying to figure out the timing to do flip turns well. 

Off to bed!

I haven't tried it but I think you'd be okay if you kept an eye on it and took it easy.  If you have access to fins, it would be even better since those take some of the work out of the pull.

So, Calluna's comment about getting "flogged" at swim practice reminded me of a funny drill we did a couple of times while swimming.  It was a reaction/fast twitch drill so not of much use to us triathletes but still funny as hell.

So he set up a chair a couple of feet behind a starting block, and then had a swimmer on the block and another on the deck behind them.  The swimmer on the block takes their mark and then the swimmer behind them takes a kickboard and hits the chair (the starting signal for the swimmer on the block) and then in the same continuous motion they swing up and try to catch the behind of the swimmer on the blocks (who should, in theory, be off the block already).
 
 Between the sound of people getting smacked in the butt with a kickboard and people flinching and falling into the water...it was the most entertaining practice.  It is a good thing that we practiced at 6:30 in the morning when no one on campus was even awake or we might have had an audience.

Hysterical!  I'd love to see this in practice.  From a distance.  Take it slow and easy on the wrist elizabeth!  I had to nix the running this week with calf pain from too much too fast I guess.   Getting better though, plus forced me to bike more.  Always a good thing. 

Jennifer

Edited by jlahoward 2011-02-12 4:34 PM

I am pretty bummed - lost most of my workout week to a bug. Today was a lot better, with a medium run and an hour and a half ice skating with my son. Brrrrrrrrr..... it was well below zero when I got up, and just above zero when I went running at about 3 PM.

Lots of moose out today, and the eagles were out when we went for an early morning car ride into some of the more rural areas.

have you all seen Food Inc yet?  I just watched the first half of it on the trainer and now am starving but cant find anythign to eat in the house.  I try to eat healthy and organic when I can, but now I want to step it up.  I'll watch the rest tomorrow. 

Looks like overall people had a pretty good week.  Keep it up everyone. I'm really looking forward to my long run tomorrow.   

Calluna - do you run around moose?  I was charged twice when we lived in Jackson Hole and they scare the crap out of me.  I learned to avoid where they would be.  But you probably cant do that in Ak, can you?  But i love love love the eagles.  I always felt like I should be in a Nike commercial when i'd run along a river in the snow with eagles above.  (although I do have a friend in Alaska who calls bald eagles "vultures with good press.")

No, I would NEVER run around the moose!  I never appreciated how big they are until I moved here - it's like having rather ugly, moody draft horses running around the neighborhood. And they're ready to murder you if you look at their calf (or calves, as moose seem to have twins more often than not). I enjoy seeing them but I prefer to seem them from the house or car.

My SO and I went for a ride in his truck this morning to see if the caribou are coming back around yet (they're not). We saw many moose, eagles, and falcons along with a spectacular sunrise. At different times we've seen so many things - spruce grouse, hawks, bears (black, brown, and blonde), trumpeter swans, golden eagles, river otters, sea otters, seals, beluga whales, puffins, wolves, lynx, Dall sheep, mountain goats, snowshoe hares, and more. You can't beat Alaska for wildlife (although an unnerving number of species are willing to scare you, kill you, and/or eat you).

I would agree with your friend about the eagles, although I might amend it to say "stupid, dirty vultures with good press". Still I enjoy seeing them - they're very very common here where I live -- and I never tire of seeing them. They're HUGE and very distinctive in flight. There used to be a woman in Homer (a little town south of here) who fed the eagles in the winter; the salmon canneries would give her some of the offal for the birds. In that town in the winter, every surface was covered with eagles - rooflines, light poles, trees, rocks, sand...everything. The eagle lady died a year or two ago, though, and the state won't let people do that anymore.

Loving the reports about the Alaskan wildlife- running with eagles soaring overhead- that sure would be inspiring!
Glad to hear some of the pool progress happening too- swimming is so good!
Me, I just had a light running session today after a break imposed by my physio due to some hip problems. Going to see him again too- I think it will be fine- just need to go easy, which is frustrating!
I am definitely checking the list for things to do. Our car broke down yesterday, so biking to work is a good alternative. I have a commuter that is a classic bike and weighs a tonne- great for thigh strength training. Might use my racer on nights I need to train though- the classic bike (we call her Big Bertha) is very! slow!
Happy training everyone!

Maree

We have turkeys here, which seem to come out during mating season to admire themselves in shiny cars.  Pretty funny.

I run when it is dark, so I only see (or hear) the sunrise animals.  All of them were neat, but the coyotes were a little alarming and the screech owl scared the heck out of me the first time I heard him. 

I am so enamored with the AK wildlife reports!  Please keep them coming Calluna.  It will be my goal in life to make it up there to see them someday.  I vote we schedule a meet up someday to see the caribou and moose. 

By contrast in NC today, I encountered a very ugly and obnoxious pseudo-cocker spaniel who wanted to take my knee caps home for show and tell.  I hate having to rough up other people's animals, but this one needed an attitude adjustment and a buzz cut. 

I'm starting to think about racing now.  Anyone have suggestions on setting pace guidelines for a new race distance?  (I'm moving up to Olympic distance this year.  How do I decide what pace I should go?  Heart rate?)  Thanks.

Jennifer

Edited by jlahoward 2011-02-13 1:19 PM

Wow, what a week! I went for my first bike ride with a new team and it HURT. I didn't know they had an intermediate ride on Sunday, so I went to the advanced ride on Saturday. It was 48 HILLY miles and I hadn't been on the bike for two weeks. Ouch ouch ouch! On my run today I had major jelly-legs and had to grit out the last three miles. 

Sorry for no weekly challenge, but my schedule was so busy I forgot. If anyone wants to pick up the reigns for a few weeks, just let me know.

So Weekly Challenge #3: NO BAD SNACKING!
Everyone knows what they should eat and what they shouldn't, so this week try to cut down on those late night ice cream splurges. Know what you are going to eat at the beginning of the day and only allow yourself 1 big treat throughout the week. And try to eat dinner/dessert before 7pm, because anything you eat later gets stored right on the hips and thighs

And for strength training: 
Every stair you take two at a time counts as a squat!!! It may look ridiculous, but it works

Hope training is going well with everybody! 

Hi all

good day today. Rode Bertha to work- chain came off after 4km- so arrived slightly greasy at work, but good to get in some incidental exercise- turns out its a neat 6km ride- took 20mins to get home.
Was at the physio today and still need some work, but can get back into everything.
Yay!
Take care

Maree

As if they could hear Emily typing the challenge for this week, someone just brought a bunch of candy for the breakroom at work.  I am resisting. 

I did take the stairs 2 at a time this morning.  No idea if it felt like doing squats, but I was certainly out of breath when I got up here.

I just want to thank you all for your great workouts this weekend.  I know that your workouts are for you and you don't do them for anyone else, but I did not get up and do anything yesterday (besides finish our tax stuff and the 2010 Christmas cards - yes, I know it is February) and was really bummed about it and low on endorphins and crabby.  It made me smile and feel a lot happier today to read about all of your neat adventures.  : )  So, thanks.

I still need to focus on "no junk food" as that has been an issue for the last week or two!

I had a question - this week is supposed to be a low-grade week (recovery week?) for me. However, last week was very low-key because of illness and a family obligation. Should I just continue with the recovery week the way it is in my plan or maybe switch last week and this week's workouts?

Hi all

my goals this week are:
Exercise: to get away 2 runs, 2 rides and 2 swims and ride to work at least 3 days in the week.
Food: to resist my husbands tempations

I need to elaborate on the food thing. On Saturday, I had bought all the ingredients for a Hainanese chicken- a delicious pouched chicken with broth and vegetables that is low fat and delicious. Just as I finished up in the Asian store, hubby came running in,telling me how the butcher across the road had the most gorgeous looking pork belly and he couldn't resist. So we ended up having pork belly instead (the chicken's gone into the freezer).
He loves to spoil me with food- and it makes it so hard to resist. This time I only had one little square of crackling, but it is pure fat nonetheless- not good!
Maybe I need to show him a different way to spoil me, really stumped- he knows I want to lose weight, but just keeps cooking the richest (most delicious) food that I can't resists. Maybe he wants to keep some meat on my bones...kidding!

So this week, no matter what he cooks up, I will resist!

Flew into work today on my road bike- took 20mins. Going to do windtrainer with the squad tonight, then ride home. A good day!

Have a good one everyone!

Maree

How are you feeling?  Are you worn out from your illness and last week being hectic? 

While it is tempting to swap the weeks, then you will be skipping your recovery week and perhaps going into a build week with a good bit of fatigue.  So, I suggest you treat last week as bygones and do your plan as scheduled this week unless there was a really important workout in last week's schedule (like a long run) that you simply can't skip.